Miraculous escape for elephants as transformer explodes in Coimbatore

A herd of five elephants, including a calf, had a miraculous escape when a transformer exploded after a tusker touched it while being chased away by forest department officials near Periyanaickenpalayam on the outskirts, early on Saturday.

According to police, villagers alerted forest department officials about the elephants straying into their farmlands around 4 am.

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The officials attempted to chase the elephants away by bursting crackers, they said. In the melee, one elephant brushed against a transformer which burst into flames. However, the herd escaped and ran into the forests, police said.